A New Post.... So Soon?

I really can't believe I am posting again since I usually wait a few weeks (or months!) to post.

Our school has started walks, where admin and other people walk through your classroom and make sure you are doing all that you are supposed to be doing??? Well using the Common Core Standards and I Can statements is huge. I am well trained on using CC standards and I Can statements since my last county required it from the beginning. Teaching 27 Kinders makes things a little tougher than having the usual 20 or so per class. I know many teachers are frustrated with large class sizes this year and we all know that being organized helps!

This little CCSS flip book made it easier for me.

You probably have a set already that you can make like this. Here is how I set mine up and what I do with it.

Since this picture I have 'straightened' up a tad and moved my rocking chair so I can utilize the board behind the chair. I keep my CCStandards that I printed out on a hook on my rocking chair. I made a nice bright cover for them so it can't be missed! I like to sit in my chair while I am having morning meeting. Before making this set,  I was having to get up and go to the board at the other end of the carpet, read and point to the I Can Statement and read the standard. Now I can sit in my chair and explain and read from my flipbook. I still show my Kinders where the I Can statement is, but that is while I am up at that board. I feel that they are understanding the connection now.

This is how page one prints out. There is a page number so I can make sure its always in order. The I Can statements are all there and also some academic vocabulary that I might want to talk to my students about before I start my lesson. There's so much to remember while also keeping my students engaged that this helps so much!

I used divider labels that you buy 8 to a pack to make sure I wouldn't waste time trying to find the standard I wanted. You could always type this, but I just used a Sharpie© to write mine. This is a good reminder for me since I still haven't memorized all the Reading headings yet. When I see them though I know what they are.

I used a large book ring from Staples and you can see in this picture how I used the page dividers. I also put some book tape on the back to make sure the dividers didn't come off even though they stick on. The large ring makes it easy for me to flip to the standard I want.

I use a post it note so that I can make sure I flip to the standard I am using for that day. Of course in reading, I always use more than one standard it seems so I have two post it notes here.

This is the cover I made for my set. I use this same yellow cardstock and type for all my headings in my class. This way it really shows up and it doesn't look so cluttered.

I know many people may not need all of this. With 27 little Kinders, as darling as they may be, things can get disorganized quickly if I do not have everything I need! This has really helped as admin has come into my room and they can see me going over the standards that we will be using in a quiet and meaningful way. Also, having the academic vocabulary right there helps me REMEMBER what I need to teach.

Hope this helps in some way. If you need an ELA Standards set for Kindergarten, mine is $3.00 in my TPT store. Please email me if you need a copy of cover I use. You can use whatever color cardstock, I just think this is easier for me to find.

Where Oh Where Does The Time Go?

This was my post last year about this time.... not much has changed except I have 20 sweet Kinders this year!!!
Well my time this school year has definitely been spent having a great time getting to know my Kinders! I love Kindergarten! I started out teaching K and now I am hoping to stay with this grade until *****Retirement Time.*****

The best thing about Kindergarten is having 27 little darlings who absolutely LOVE their teacher. They hug me and tell me they love me constantly... even when I am asking them to move their color. The second best thing about Kindergarten is seeing students LEARN! You can actually see the progress day by day. How rewarding is that! Some people get their rewards making money, teachers get their rewards by knowing they are helping little people!

One thing we are doing every minute is Letter Recognition. This is Common Core Standard:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.1d Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Having fun with Letter Recognition is what my students love to do best. We play games, we use flash cards, we do all kinds of things. One of the best ways I have found to help students with letter recognition AND know their color names are my "Letter Recognition Practice - 8 Mystery Pictures To Color!"

My students love doing these. At the beginning of the year I gave these out, but I had to color in each 'crayon' for them. Now that 2 months have gone by, (well almost 2) I printed these out again and they have to look at the color words to figure out the colors.

There are 8 different pictures in this set and by this time most students had completed about 6 of them at various times during the month. They are great when someone finishes up their work or as morning work. I kept all of the completed pictures in their folders and had them pick their best work to put up!

Thanks for reading my Blog! I am still not too sure if I am doing this right, but it is fun showing my students their work online!

If you have any questions about anything posted, please just let me know. My email is pamjmmes@gmail.com.

The Mystery Pictures are in my TPT store. Right now the letter recognition set is only $3.00 for the download. I have two sets, one is the Letter Recognition pictured here and the other is Sight Word Practice ($4.00.) Both are fun for students and they really do LEARN while having fun!

Thanks for reading!

Enjoying Summer Break!

It has been a month since I've posted on my blog! A lot has happened, but mostly this:

Ocean Isle Beach, NC

My hubby and I walk on the beach almost every morning or night. Then we sit and just watch the waves. Very therapeutic!  I can plan a whole week's lesson while sitting and watching the sea. Or I just think about nothing and just relax.

I've also been doing a tad of knitting. This is a little vest for a friend of mine who just had a baby boy, Charlie! I love his name. The pattern is Cabled Vest and is really so easy.

My deck is probably my favorite place to sit. It's shaded by a big ole Oak Tree. I love it. I can sit there, under the tree, any time of the day and there is always a cool breeze!

I've also been thinking about my sweet students. This is a gift one of them brought to me a few days after school let out. My last year's fourth graders do not know that I will not be their teacher next year. I just found out myself a few days ago. I will miss them so much, but this is a change I asked for. I'm going from 4th and 5th grade AIG to KINDERGARTEN! Some people wonder about my sanity, but I know I will enjoy teaching K again. I loved AIG, but I taught Reading, Math, and Social Studies to 2 grade levels, plus I had a home room with all those responsibilities. No time for a break or even to regroup before the next group came in. I started out teaching Kindergarten and I look forward to this coming year.

So, I have been planning and thinking and reading about Common Core and early learners. Wow, things have changed since I taught K. Looking forward to visiting some K blogs to see what everyone is doing. I did put a few new items for K on TPT. Also a really nice freebie that I think everyone will like.  Here's the link: Sight Word Dictionary !

Here's some little Thumbnails of the Dictionary! Very tiny, but you can download the Dictionary for Free at my TPT store! 

Have a wonderful summer, and as always, thanks for visiting my blog!

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School's out but I have a Pacing Guide Team workshop today and next week! I am working on the 3rd Grade Science and I am actually excited! I love science and 3rd grade! More later!

Time Again For End Of The Year Memory Brochures!

End of the year Brochures! I didn't get all my End of Year Memory Brochures finished so we can work on those.  The Memory Brochures were a big hit! I didn't think I was going to have time to use them with my students, but I did get a few minutes to have them work on them.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/End-Of-Year-Memory-Brochure-Graduating-5th-Graders-Make-For-4th-Graders-708762

5th Grade Teachers must have really made our students tow the line because most of the them mentioned 'do not make your teachers mad!' They also wrote to pay attention to your teacher... whatever she says listen! I did start making sure every student in my room was looking at me when I explained or talked to them. I would stop and just wait, pretty soon they all would put down their pencils and listen. If someone picked up a pencil in the middle of my explanation, I would stop again and wait for that person. In the beginning this took extra time, but after a week or so, they knew they had to stop and look and listen! Kindergarten stuff I know, but it is so important to reinforce this even in 5th grade!

I made sure all students had crayons and pencils. We did the graphic organizer first, then I let them finish up. The activity took about an hour and they enjoyed doing this because they felt like they were really helping out the 4th graders who would be in their place next year.

I didn't realize so many of my students liked the privileges appreciated the privileges of being able to walk to areas in the school with a buddy instead of the entire class. Most put this down as something you get to do!

5th Grade didn't get to go on a Field Trip because of budget concerns. The only place we went was to the Middle School. They all loved this! Well, we did go to First Tee every Monday for 5 weeks, but to a lot of my students this wasn't something 'fun.'

This one was cute.... NO chitchat! Good advice!

Star Base was awesome! We didn't go on a Field Trip, but StarBase came to us. I can't believe how much my students learned. Unfortunately this is not funded in NC for next year.

They really turned out sweet. I plan on giving these to my 5th grade class next year. If I had used them earlier I would have had my students present them to the 4th graders.

As they were making these I thought how bittersweet the end of each year is, then I got the news that we had one more day! I guess we will have to do all those good-byes and hugs and crying times again Monday!

Hope you enjoyed your End of Year or if you are still teaching (Year Rounders or homeschoolers) enjoy your days! They go by so fast! 

(Oh, you can pick this item up in my TPT store at this link: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/End-Of-Year-Memory-Brochure-Graduating-5th-Graders-Make-For-4th-Graders-708762 )

Summer Reading Response Journal - Using Blooms Revised Taxonomy

Responding To Text, Common Core, Journal, Summer Reading, Blooms Revised Taxonomy, Questioning, Creativity, Responding to Text, Informational Text.
You know how some things just come about by accident? Well that is how my Responding to Text Journal came about. I knew I needed some way for my students to record their thoughts about their independent reading. I have used index cards for each chapter and just writing in a composition book. Those were all okay, but the index cards got lost and we have so many of the marbled composition books that I knew I needed a change. That's how I came up with this journal.

The Responding To Text Journal is 24 pages. Easy to use, I just printed, then copied front to back and stapled in the middle. There it was, a great little journal that my students can take home with them over a break or use in class and home. I used these little gems the past few weeks while I was pulling students back for some Intensive Care in reading! We had been reading the book, The City of Ember for silent reading time. As I was pulling students that needed help I gave this journal to my other students. These are 4th graders who are somewhat higher leveled thinkers and need rigor and challenge. They also love to color as you can see from the cover.

Many times my students ask me if they can color while they are thinking of what to write. I usually do not let them color until they have written something in their journals. If you are a good writer though, processing and thinking time is imperative. 

The inside page is easy peazy though! They do have to write when they started the book, how many pages and chapters the book has, and other important information. This book has a higher Lexile level than I usually allow for silent reading, but we are going to read along with the Audio which will help with their understanding.

On each page students have to answer one of the questions in each box that relates to one of the Blooms Revised Taxonomy levels. This was hard for a few of my students and I let them draw their answers out. At the top they write the chapter they are referring to and the pages. Some books, like the Mary Pope Osborne Magic Tree House books, the chapters are short so they would write the page numbers and spend more time with each chapter.

I did some spot checking and asked Why? on a few pages so they would give me more details. This is a learning process though and takes some students longer than others. I do think this will be a good way to have students think about their reading. It doesn't take long, the graphics are cute, and they have a choice of questions.

To keep my students from getting too bored or tired of 'thinking,' I made some graphic type pages where they can have some creative thinking time and draw and design. All in all, my students are enjoying this journal. I think this will be great for over the summer when I want them to read some of the Battle of the Book books or any of the books that are recommended for summer reading.

This journal is on sale in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, Pam-Dalessandro. There is a huge Teacher Appreciation Sale for May 7 and 8th! 28% off in my store and a lot of other stores on the site. 

Thanks as always for viewing my blog and looking at what is going on in my classroom. I am hoping to change grade levels next year. I have taught all grades, except 6th, so am anxious to see where I will be placed. AIG students are wonderful and I have enjoyed this year. It hasn't been easy teaching 4th and 5th grades with a 3rd grade pull in. I want to concentrate on one grade level again, I think that is enough for any of us!

Good luck to everyone on their EOGs and have a wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week!

Look To The North: A Wolf Pup Diary by Jean Craighead George

Why I use Study Guides in my classes. I love reading about animals and I have always had students that love reading books about animals. The Informational Narrative, Look To The North: A Wolf Pup Diary by Jean Craighead George is the sweetest nonfiction book that tells the story of three wolf pups as they grow up in the north. Jean Craighead George loved animals and this love comes through in all of her books. The book is beautifully illustrated by Lucia Washburn. The lexile level is 580L. (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/look-north)

I didn't choose the book because of a certain grade level, I wanted my students to enjoy reading a beautifully illustrated book, with a clear sequence, and one that they could find details in the text to answer questions and new vocabulary words. I don't think anyone is ever too old to read a story with beautiful illustrations. To make sure that my students were receiving the instruction that followed the Common Core, I made a Study Guide. You can download a preview of this study guide at my teacher store on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Student has finished the research section and is now working on connections  to the story.

I made this Study Guide so that my students can get all the information needed, plus work at their own pace. I included some research, phonics, spelling, vocabulary, lots of critical thinking questions and writing. I also included a Science and Social Studies Integration. While students are busy working together or independently, I can pull students in small groups and monitor other student's progress. I always makes sure students have access to a computer, dictionary, pencils and erasers, and always a book and a nice box of crayons.

The Vocabulary section pulls in the vocabulary words that a student might not be familiar with. There is a section at the bottom of this page where students must come up with a word from the text that they think should have been a vocabulary word.

There is a poem with relavent questions to answer and also a section on personification. 

My favorite part of the study guide is the front cover. Students draw a new cover and they must use color and details from the text!

Each student uses a dictionary for the Vocabulary section.

Students reference the text to answer the Comprehension Question. Each question has the Revised Blooms level so students know why this question is important.

Each section has the Common Core alignment. You can also see the Revised Blooms Levels above each Comprehension Question.

The Science Research has the Essential Question and give students a chance to learn more about an Arctic animal. I also post urls and videos on Edmodo so students have a starting point for reference.

Finished cover showing the Alpha pup. 

Finished Cover. This is before I look over the Study Guide. Students will be given a chance to correct handwriting and grammar mistakes before turning the guide in for grading.

Another sweet cover.

All my students wanted their cover on my blog. They did a great job of using details from the story to make their cover. If you have read the book, you know that Talus is smelling the grizzly and alerting his siblings. The blue flowers are Harebells.

Cover showing originality. 

Fast finishers spend time coloring and usually find parts where they might need to erase and start over. Coloring not only gives my students a chance to process the information they learned, it also gives them a chance to check back over their work.

I like the way this student illustrated her vocabulary word. Not only did she draw the harebells she also illustrated that they bloom in July.

I always include a Phonics section. Students in 4th and 5th grade still need phonics instruction, even if it is just reinforcing what they already know.

This is a very creative cover, this student wanted to include the title after drawing so she put it into her moon and clouds.

A lot of pictures I know! My students love seeing their work on my blog. I wish I could show their sweet faces while they are working on these study guides. This guide has 12 pages. This might be daunting if I had given them 12 pages of worksheets. In a nice booklet, they are able to read and study the book without being intimidated by the workload. And I have a product showing their learning and growth.

Study guides can be useful tools teaching the Common Core way. Students are involved, there is a section where they must read a poem to a buddy and then listen while their buddy reads back to them. Students are working independently but can discuss and collaborate as needed. I can monitor, check for understanding and also work individually with a student or with small groups. Students are using the computer and a reference book. They are involved with their learning and delving deeper into the text with the comprehension questions.  This book seems like a nice picture book, but students are learning to infer, evaluate and question the text they are reading.

Let me know if you have any ideas about using Study Guides in your classroom.

As always, thanks for visiting!